Economics of Happiness

Helena Norberg-Hodge

Helena is a local film maker and activist best known for her remarkable documentary ‘The Economics of Happiness’.

The Economics of Happiness is a 2011 documentary film directed by Helena Norberg-Hodge, Steven Gorelick, and John Page, and produced by Local Futures (formerly the International Society for Ecology and Culture).SynopsisThe film features many voices from six continents calling for systemic economic change.

The documentary describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. While government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power, people around the world are resisting those policies and working to forge a very different future.

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Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm: an economics of localization.Recognition

The Economics of Happiness has won “Best in Show” at the Cinema Verde Film and Arts Festival, “Best Direction” from EKOFilm 2011, “Judges’ Choice” and “Audience Choice” at the Auroville International Film Festival, an “Award of Merit” from the Accolade Film Festival, and several other awards.

In 2012, the film was listed among the top ten films as chosen by Transition town initiatives.In 2015, it was awarded 1st place out of 100 “documentaries we can use to change the world” by Films for Action, an activism-oriented film screening and compilation site.

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Facebook Page Posts

“Transitions have to start somewhere and unless we make decisions today that will essentially take effect in 30 or more years’ time, we run the risk of acting too late and causing abrupt shocks to communities and our country.” ... See MoreSee Less

This is important, however, the climate effects of animal production is huge and this is among the top industries in New Zealand. There needs to be a bit more focus of that. Sadly, many of the rivers and wetlands are polluted in NZ because of unsustainable farming practices. 😕

MaryAnn Casas

Learn more about the history of GDP, the flaws in the current system, and the alternatives by listening to our Local Bites Podcast with Richard Heinberg.

Richard is Senior Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute and is regarded as one of the world's foremost advocates for a shift away from our current reliance on fossil fuels.

The dysfunctional economic system presently in place is on the inevitable verge of collapse since our planet cannot sustain the total insanity of it. There has never been a civilisation that we know of that has not collapsed under its own weight of stupidity and greed.

A new beginning is on your horizon but you must have the courage to push through. Declare your struggles over. Declare your enemies defeated. Declare yourself victorious. Do this with passion. Your own self-talk is a very powerful tool in cultivating your belief system and ultimately your results. If you are defeated in your thoughts you will be defeated in your life. If you are a champion in your thoughts - your success is inevitable.

'Even in teenage lungs, Dr Kumar sees black deposits that would have been almost unthinkable 30 years ago. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — in short, severe lung conditions — is now India’s largest cause of death after heart disease.' ... See MoreSee Less

I wrote my Sunday essay on this very issue, along with all the others that create these conditions..
Sunday mini essay Jan 20 2019
It seems everything needs to be turned on its head ....
The problem with this truth is that too many are looking at impulsive, divisive, and isolating methods to affect change at a time where a united and methodical approach is needed…. but we do need to turn things on their head!
The system is working against us, and we have clearly lost our way in our stewardship of this same system, to the point where the system has taken on a will of it’s own and we are an after-thought.
Here we are at the moment where we must shift everything we do, touch, consume, live in, drive, and eat with a priority to what is BEST for us, the humans, as a species, and not the 1% who have clearly mismanaged the economy.
It is OUR economy, not theirs, they are simply the recipients of the good fortune that comes with being part of an economy that is functioning in a profit.
So why have we have given over the reins?
Well...it seems we all want "someone" to take care of us.
Hmmm,,,, well that didn't work. 🙂
To function at a profit, an economy does not have to be sustainable, nor does it have be good for the people, it merely has to serve the moment, and therein lies the rub.
We have not insisted our economies take into consideration the cornerstones of an economy designed to serve the citizens of the planet. Our folly.
The model must be based upon what is good for everyone, and it must start with being SUSTAINABLE, and in tandem with a priority to ensure that our Land, Air, Water, Food and our Health and well-being are the FIRST considerations, so we are kept safe, secure and healthy.
We could create and ACRONYM for it like, FLASH (Food, Land, Air, Sustainable, Health). LOL
It’s really that simple.
An economy that is built on this very easy to identify platform will be more robust than any previous economic model, and far superior to the roller coaster hobbled together one we have now, and WE will all be better for it.
The whole world will still function, in fact it will thrive, we will still drive cars, buy groceries, build homes, take holidays and buy all our precious stuff.
The difference between the current economy and the sustainable future economy requires that the practices of the corporations be rooted in ensuring they are compliant with the protocol, (FLASH) the cars will not pollute our air, and the groceries will be healthy, not laden with unnecessary chemicals, not sold in endless amounts of plastic, the food will be good food, food that will keep us living longer, and not cause us to be a burden on our healthcare system. The land will not be destroyed, the air will not be polluted, the water will be kept clean, the well-being of the citizens will be improved.
That is the economy we MUST have, one that is interested in continual improvement of OUR lives, our health and our planet.
This is a tall order, but we humans are amazing, ingenious, and resilient, we can do it.
How?
Well in the beginning, to force the hand, so to speak, we start with putting a price on everything sold that is bad for our air, our water the land and our food, and us the humans, because this is the beauty of capitalism; when it is designed to improve, the corporations will adapt. Again it’s that simple.
Buy those eggs in a plastic container, pay an extra dollar, and guess what the egg sellers will be using cardboard again overnight, why, because the first one who does will have a competitive advantage and that is VERY important to corporations.
Want to buy peppers wrapped in plastic, pay and extra dollar for it, and guess what the pepper sellers will be using cardboard containers again, just like at the farmers market, overnight.
Want to buy Coke and processed foods, yes you can but you will pay a price to do so, because those foods cause illnesses and those illnesses cost our entire society in ways far beyond the healthcare system, they cause employers to lose time for sick workers to name but one.
We have been trained to eat poorly, trained to accept polluted air, trained to think little of throwing away incredible amounts of waste, especially plastics, and not had to pay a price, and trained to believe that all our goods need to be over-packaged and trained to accept disposable rather than repairable goods.
It’s time to pay up.
The government must put a price on poisonous chemicals in our products, and on endless waste and pollution by taxing everything that is bad for us and rewarding corporations that make things and do things that are NOT bad for us.
Put a price on anything that is bad for our health, air, water, land and our food and our well-being and watch things change.
As the saying goes… money doesn’t talk, it SCREAMS!
It’s that simple.

As it's Veganuary at the moment, the meat v. vegan argument is raging like never before, and as this article points out, both sides are missing the point. Vegans often point out that it's the cruelty side of the meat industry they're against, but then, at the same time, go about their business in acrylic fleece jackets etc (to avoid wool) not connecting the symbiosis of the effects of microplastics on wildlife. Think we need to share this article in some of the current meat v. vegan debates.

Time to change direction...'The study found that if all fossil fuel infrastructure – power plants, factories, vehicles, ships and planes – from now on are replaced by zero-carbon alternatives at the end of their useful lives, there is a 64% chance of staying under 1.5C.'#LocalFutures #EconomicsOfHappiness ... See MoreSee Less

Stop burning subsidized Roundup Ready corn in cars in the U.S. 40 million acres worth.

If you'd like a chance to see Helena in person, mark your calendars for the National Sustainable Living Festival's big weekend in Melbourne, Australia!

Helena will give a keynote address on the economics of happiness on Saturday 9th February at 1.30pm, and will speak on a panel with David Holmgren - who along with Bill Mollison coined the term 'permaculture' - on 10th February at 4:30pm.

❤️”On the evening of 14 July 1789, the Duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt woke King Louis XVI to inform him about the storming of the Bastille.
“Why, is this a rebellion?”the King wondered.
“No Sir. It’s a revolution”, replied the Duke.”

Or as Balaji Shankar ?? (please correct me if I'm wrong) said... We are creating specialists at nothing and fools at everything else... 🤔

And the solution is more straightforward than curing major childhood diseases - tackle the fossil fuel industry!'According to a paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, burning fossil fuels is now “the world’s most significant threat to children’s health”' ... See MoreSee Less

Ah… I see you were curious about the Geometry icons :-)Being the creator of ByronNow.com gives me the opportunity to share my vision of how Sacred Geometry can help to accelerate human spiritual, mental and emotional evolution so that we can keep up with our technological evolution. I invite you to participate at my website SacredGeometryWeb.comwhere there is an interactive discussion forum.

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